


Daisy Chain

by ownedbyacat



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Army!fic, Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, hints of OT5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 08:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3844738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ownedbyacat/pseuds/ownedbyacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaejoong, being the model recruit that he is, has earned himself a phonecall. And, of course, he's going to call his parents, right? So how would he react when he finds that his parents have arranged a little surprise for him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daisy Chain

**Author's Note:**

> This story came as an aside to Jae's army diaries, T Minus..., and is, for obvious reasons, a lot more fictional than the diary. Still feasible, but a lot less grounded in reality. It's also not very long, since my brain's in drabble mode, and as fluffy as all get out. Still, I hope it hits the spot at least a little. But I advise you keep a toothbrush handy.

It was at the end of his free time— just before roll call and curfew—that Jaejoong stepped into the small, private space reserved for telephone calls. A cubicle more than a room, it nevertheless boasted a reasonably comfy sofa, the all-important phone and—more precious than diamonds on an army base—privacy. The walls were painted an inoffensive shade of off-white and the space oozed calm and peace.

Jaejoong needed as much peace and calm as he could get, right then. Given the way his knees shook and his palms were sweating even a casual observer might have been led to believe that Jaejoong had never used a telephone before. Or that he was going to enquire about the date and time of his own execution.

He couldn't argue that he was scared. And that made really very little sense. If anything had happened to his family, he would have been told right away. He knew that. He _really_ knew that. So why was it scary to pick up the phone? Just because it was the first time in his life he'd gone four weeks without speaking to his parents?

He'd decided on the way to the telephone room to ignore the wonky feelings, and he'd pushed them away. He had enough experience dealing with unwanted emotion that he could deal with these ones, too. He took a deep breath and reached for the phone, pacing the room like a caged beast as he dialled the number he knew by heart, not acknowledging that peace and calm might be easier to come by if he actually sat down.

The phone rang and rang and Jaejoong's heart sank. Had he really picked the one evening when his parents were out to make that precious call? Had his sister not seen the email his sergeant had sent on his behalf? Or had she not believed what she was reading? They had all grown used to crank emails, even to private email addresses that nobody but family should know, so maybe…

He was about to hang up and try calling one of his sisters when the ring tone stopped. "Yeoboseyo?"

"Mum? It's Jaejoong."

"Joongie."

It was wonderful to hear his mother's voice and Jae swallowed nerves along with the big lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

"How are you?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? I'm the one who's calling."

"We're fine. You know we are. We got all your letters, too. And the email. Now, tell me… how are you and…"

"I'm fine, Mum, really. I'm settling in and… you won't believe it, but I've put on three pounds… and I've done more ironing in the last month than ever before. Honestly. You join the army to do ironing?" He heard himself rambling and made an effort to stop. He wanted to hear his mother's voice, not spend the short time he had talking.

"Mum, tell me how you all are? I only have a few minutes and I want to know everything that's going on."

"We're looking forward to seeing you shortly," his father's voice came through the receiver. "I'm sure there'll be more time for discussion then."

"We've put together a daisy chain for you, love," his mother added all of a sudden sounding very young and very excited.

Jaejoong thought he could hear his sisters' voices in the background, but the line was a bit crackly all at once and he couldn't be sure. He wasn't even sure he'd understood his mother correctly. "A what? Mum, what are you talking about?"

"A daisy chain. Don't hang up…. Just listen and don't hang up until you come back to me."

Jaejoong took the phone from his ear and stared at the receiver in consternation. What the fuck was a daisy chain? Why did his mother think he wanted or needed one? He wanted to hear—

"Hey, Joongie," his eldest sister's voice, loud and cheerful, made him focus and put the phone back to his ear. "Sounds like you're a hit with your comrades' girlfriends, eh? Are you giving autographs yet?"

She cackled evilly, but before Jaejoong could even draw breath to answer, the line clicked twice. His youngest sister spoke next, chuffing him about using the army as a health resort to finally put on some weight.

"Hyung!" Junsu's voice spilled from the speaker, the sound lighting up the small room like a ray of sunshine. "Don't break all the records. Leave some for me."

"We'll bring you some soju when we come to visit," Yoochun promised, and both were gone from the line before Jae could scramble enough brain cells to respond.

Realising that there really wasn't enough time to talk with each caller, Jaejoong resigned himself to listen to voice after voice coming over the wire. Close friends, former colleages and family, all reminding him of why he was where he was. The daisy chain—and Jaejoong finally understood what his mother had meant by that—was a lengthy one and nobody spoke for long. Mostly, it was a greeting and a quick tease, a snippet of news or word of encouragement, and then they made way for the next caller in line.

Finally, the line went quiet and Jae wondered if he'd come to the end of his call, wondered if the next voice he'd hear would be his mother's before his precious link with the outside world was gone once more. But then, from seemingly very far away came two voices, singing softly… _geogjeonghaji ma, neon hal su isseo, meuoshideun neon hal su isseo, ije mak shijagdwen iyagi…_ and Jaejoong stared in disbelief at the wall, too stupefied to react, even now when he was desperate to speak.

 _You know what time it is?…_ a loud voice suddenly yelled down the line, startling Jaejoong. He took a breath, the line clicked and then…

"Joongie? Did you get it all?"

"Mum, that was…" Jaejoong had no idea what to say. And even if he had, it would have been near impossible to get words past the lump in his throat. But he couldn't let the call end just like that. He knew that much. So he drew a deep, shuddering breath and managed a rough, whispered, "I love you all," just before the line went dead.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise for the excess of fluff, but that's where the Muse went and I didn't stop her. The lyrics are taken from _The Story has just Begun_ and should say something like: _Don't worry you can do it. You can do anything. The story has just begun._


End file.
